Bitfinex Hack: U.S Seizes $3.6 Billion in Bitcoin Stolen in 2016
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The United States has seized $3.6 billion in Bitcoin that was stolen during a 2016 hack of crypto exchange, Bitfinex
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In what has been termed the largest financial seizure ever, the Justice Department also disclosed that two people were arrested
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Ilya Lichtenstein and his wife, Heather Morgan we’re detained and arraigned before the court for conspiracy to launder 119,754 BTC
The United States has seized $3.6 billion in Bitcoin that was stolen by cybercriminals during the 2016 hack of cryptocurrency exchange Bitfinex.
In what has been tagged the largest financial seizure ever, authorities have arrested a couple- Ilya Lichtenstein and Heather Morgan.
The two were arrested in the morning and arraigned at a Federal Court in Manhattan by afternoon.
They have been accused of conspiring to launder 119,754 Bitcoin stolen after the exchange’s system was breached.
Announcing the cryptocurrency seize and the arrest of the alleged criminals, Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said in a statement:
“Today’s arrests, and the Department’s largest financial seizure ever, show that cryptocurrency is not a safe haven for criminals.
In a futile effort to maintain digital anonymity, the defendants laundered stolen funds through a labyrinth of cryptocurrency transactions.”
On the other hand, Ari Redbord, a former federal prosecutor who is now the head of legal and government affairs at TRM Labs had nothing but praise for the blockchain.
He stated that the open ledger gives investigators a chance to trail the money in ways which is difficult with complex webs of shell companies.
Bitfinex which is the exchange affiliated with the world’s biggest stablecoin, Tether suffered a $71 million Bitcoin hack. Today, the haul is worth more than $4.5 billion.
Read also: NFT Marketplace OpenSea Hacked as $780,000 is Stolen
As Lichtenstein and Morgan appeared before the court, the government asked them not to be released on bail to avoid them running.
A federal prosecutor stated that there is a possibility of them is facing up to a 20-year prison sentence each.
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